One possibility is that the President will indicate that he has come to his senses, and that he will eschew saber-rattling against Iran in lieu of a course of seeking peace. This is the course that his Republican opponents fear the most, because it gives Obama the opportunity to appear "presidential," to take the high road, to place some real distance between himself and everyone else in this election year.

Unfortunately, a far more likely possibility (in my opinion) is that Obama will issue stern talk about Iran. The silver lining in that possibility is that it would offer the Republicans a chance to upstage Obama by talking sense in their "response." Just imagine: Republicans could paint the young president as reckless, the kind of person who should be gently but firmly ushered out of his position of power. The Republicans could achieve a kind of political miracle by appearing more presidential than a sitting president, simply by showing forbearance. (And I'm not even talking about something that might actually rise to the level of responsible governance, like hearings into the assassinations in Iran!)

So just what good can come out of #IranTuesday? Just this: it will serve as proof, for anyone who still needs it, that the mainstream U.S. parties constitute a distinction without a difference, and offer no kind of choice for people who want to change the future direction of the country.